The West Indies men’s side will play home series against Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Pakistan during the 2026 season, with the tours of Sri Lanka and Pakistan including Test matches, Cricket West Indies (CWI) announced on Thursday.

Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica, will host the white-ball matches against Sri Lanka between June 3 and 14, with the Test matches, which will start on June 25 and July 3, to be played at Sir Vivian Richards Stadium at North Sound in Antigua.

The New Zealand tour will only feature five ODIs, to be played at Guyana’s National Stadium (first three) and Kensington Oval in Barbados (last two) between July 11 and 21.

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC), under the direction of the Cricket Transformation Committee launched a special program aimed at educating and developing school cricket coaches in the country.

The inaugural session of the program was held on Monday, 25th May, at the High Performance Center of the SLC with the participation of 74 coaches representing Division ‘1’ and ‘2’ schools.

The Head Coach of the Sri Lanka Men’s Team Gary Kirsten conducted a two-hour session for the participating coaches. During the session, Kirsten shared valuable insights into modern coaching methods and highlighted key areas coaches should focus on in order to nurture talented and promising young cricketers.

He emphasized the importance of creating a friendly and supportive environment for children while teaching them cricketing skills. Kirsten also noted that coaches must continuously improve their own skill levels in order to develop successful players. He encouraged school coaches to focus more on producing good cricketers rather than simply concentrating on winning matches.

Joining Kirsten at the program were Ryan van Niekerk, National Bowling Coach, and Jordan Gregory, National Fielding and Spin Bowling Coach, who also shared their expertise and experiences with the school coaches.

Sidath Wettimuny, Chairman of the Cricket Committee of Sri Lanka Cricket, who is also a member of the Cricket Transformation Committee, did the introductory speech of the program.

The program also featured an interactive Question-and-Answer session, giving participants the opportunity to engage directly with Gary Kirsten and further enhance their knowledge.

This program will continue periodically, with the objective of developing highly skilled and knowledgeable coaches within the Sri Lankan school cricket system.

The 400 metres relay quartet inclusive of Sadew Rajakaruna and Omel Shashintha and 800 metres specialist Tharushi Abisheka will lead the country’s medal quest in the boys and girls categories when the Asian Junior Athletics Championship starts in Hong Kong today.

‎After having run sub 46 seconds in the 400 metres recently, Rajakaruna is expected to carry huge expectations to the regional event alongside Shashintha who too came almost close to clock sub 46.

‎They will compete in both the 400 metres and the 200 metres apart from playing lead roles in the relay.

Tharushi Abisheka

‎Both athletes are among the top sprinters in the Asian region and were a part of the nationl record setting quartet in the short track 4×400 metres relay along side seniors. They are expected to use their experience in competing at top international level to good effect.

‎In the girls’ category Abisheka is the leading contender for medals.

‎The Asian Youth Champion is scheduled to compete in both the 800 metres and the 1,500 metres.

‎In the field events, Tharusha Mendis has high hopes of bringing his best in the high jump.

‎‎Team

‎Under 20 Men’s:

Omel Shashintha Silva – 400m, 200m, 4x400m Relay, Sadew Rajakaruna – 400m, 200m, 4x400m Relay, Thisen Ranvidu Pathirage – Mixed Relay, 4x400m Relay, Iresh Bogoda – 4x400m Relay, Mixed Relay, Irosha Edirisingha – 4x400m Relay, Mixed Relay, Nethsara Dineth Liyanage – 800m, 1500m, Vidushan Rajendran – 3000m, Kaveesha Kulathunga – 110mH, Shavindu Nimasha Dias – 400mH, Kalpadith Hansaja Uyanwaththa – 400mH, Deesara Sendil Herath – Long Jump, Tharusha Mendis – High Jump, Nethra Chandupa Fernando – High Jump, Thehara Ravishka Fernando- Triple Jump, Sasindu Hansana Jayasingha – Triple Jump.

Under 20 Women’s:

Risansa Hirupama Silva – 200m, Dilanma Ransini Perera – 200m, Tharushi Abhisheka – 800m, 1500m, Mixed Relay, Mihinsa Dewmini Abeyrathna – High Jump, Oshini Kavindya Kodikara – Triple Jump, Ronalee Anne Pieris – 400m, Mixed Relay, Warsha Devmini Wimalasekara – Mixed Relay.‎